Lakers to keep No. 17 pick in 2024 NBA Draft, Pelicans defer to 2025

The Pelicans had until June 1st to decide whether to keep Los Angeles’ 2024 first round draft pick or defer and take the 2025 pick. That pick marks the final one owed to New Orleans as part of the AD trade.

As reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski the Pelicans will defer the pick, allowing the Lakers to keep their No. 17 pick in this year’s NBA Draft.

The Pelicans were expected to let the Lakers keep 2024 first round pick, but now the Lakers franchise has clarity in both the present and near future. Now that they have their pick, the Lakers can use up to three future first round picks in a trade on draft night.

Vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka mentioned having these picks and using them in a potential deal after the trade deadline as a reason the team didn’t make a move during that window.

The time is now for the Lakers to “be aggressive” and go after another star or use the pick to bolster the roster with young talent.

Regarding players the Lakers have reportedly worked out, Bronny James is a prospect they now have the resources to draft.

Lakers fans want to draft Bronny James and while No. 17 is higher than any current projection has him going, Bronny has flown up draft boards starting with a strong performance at the NBA Draft Combine.

Whether the Lakers draft Bronny, trade their assets or start building through the draft, the good news is that they now know their options and understand them.

The AD deal is also now fully completed. It’s hard to determine a winner of the deal as the Pelicans won a play-in game in 2021-22 and had a couple of victories in a series against the Suns. The Lakers, meanwhile, won an NBA title the first year Davis joined the roster and just watched him earn First Team All-Defense and Second Team All-NBA honors this year.